domains, subdomains, webspace, bandwidth..

Hey, Here's something i found out today and please do not say it is like i'm going to describe it here!

You add new domain/customer with let's say 50MB of webspace and 50MB of bandwidth. Now you also offer them 5 subdomains with ordered package. When adding new subdomain, you cannot 'attach' it to domain name to use their space/bandwidth.
So in other words, user get's a total of 300 MB of webspace and 300MB of bandwidth with 1 domain + all used 5 subdomains while he paid for 50MB of space and 50MB of bandwidth.

Will any newer version of ISPConfig have better support for subdomains cause frankly, current one is bad!

Plus, please fix that database username stuff and add it so that user can enter his own username and use as prefix the domain name...

You add new domain/customer with let's say 50MB of webspace and 50MB of bandwidth. Now you also offer them 5 subdomains with ordered package. When adding new subdomain, you cannot 'attach' it to domain name to use their space/bandwidth.
So in other words, user get's a total of 300 MB of webspace and 300MB of bandwidth with 1 domain + all used 5 subdomains while he paid for 50MB of space and 50MB of bandwidth.

falko
I did write it in a bit of confusing way. What i was saying is that i cannot offer a hosting packet to my clients with let's say 5 subdomains and 50MB of webspace and 50MB of bandwidth total per domain + all 5 subdomains.

Why not? Cause each subdomain will have its own limits in webspace and bandwidth and the reason for that is that we actually create new account for subdomain completly seperated from 'main' account.

Actually i can't even offer them additional domains to be used on the above hosting packet. Same thing, new account for each domain and each domain gets again 50MB of space and 50MB of bandwidth, less or more, depends on how much space i give them.

The problem is that Clients are an virtual elemnt in IPConfig to organise websites. Clients did not exist as system user in linux beacuse linux does not support hierarchical quota and groups. You can not have (group)quota x that is defined inside (group)quota y.

New tab is created on sites form. Form that shows when you click on some created site where user/client can see his own stuff. Here user himself can view/add new/update/delete his subdomains.
Check the pic:example 1

Now when user adds a new subdomain.example 2
This domain is of coruse written into table a new apache info is added to Vhosts_ispconfig.conf file like:

And now the finall part, folder called 'sub_subdomain' is created inside domains main folder, so:
/var/www/www.example.com/web/ <--- main domain folder
/var/www/www.example.com/web/sub_subdomain <--- main subdomain folder

NOTE: sub_ = prefix that is attached to each folders name for subdomains.

Of course admins/resellers can limit number of subdomains allowed per site/hosting packet.

In other words, subdomains are now really part of main domain, using domains webspace/bandwidth. No more new accounts, users can add subdomains on their own without being super duper expert of adding new domain..

What's the problem with this? This is how we all want for subdomains to work. Seen lots of people on this forum asking for this type of subdomains. They probably know it from cPanel or some other CP.

I would add this feature but i have one problem (not familiar with ISPConfig code structure, falko check PM ). If you guys give me some help on getting to know the code structure when i need it, i'll be happy to do this.

In other words, subdomains are now really part of main domain, using domains webspace/bandwidth. No more new accounts, users can add subdomains on their own without being super duper expert of adding new domain..

What's the problem with this? This is how we all want for subdomains to work. Seen lots of people on this forum asking for this type of subdomains. They probably know it from cPanel or some other CP.

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It might be the way cPanel manages subdomains, but this does not mean that anyone wants subdomains to work this way as ISPConfig implements it with the possibility to have more then one website per customer. For example most poeple here are asking to set a subdomain to a directory of their choice and not to a static subdirectory under the main web directory as this does not add real benefit to the current ISPConfig implementation with mod_rewrite (you can use mod rewrite that the URL in browser dies not change, this results in the same behaviour then your implemamtation).

I would add this feature but i have one problem (not familiar with ISPConfig code structure, falko check PM ). If you guys give me some help on getting to know the code structure when i need it, i'll be happy to do this.

Click to expand...

Please ask me for any development related questions and not Falko.

I think there are two problems with the solution in your example screenshots, 1) we dont have space for another tab, (in your screenshot the SSL tab is not enabled) so it might be better to add the subdomain list on the same tab then the co-domains.

The way I prefer the implementation is to add a checkbox or option field to the co-domain settings where the type of subdomain can be selected. Either as rewrite rule like ISPConfig implements it now or as separate vhost like you proposed it.

If you add subdomains as vhosts, dont forget to change the log split scripts and the statistic scripts too, so the traffic is accumulated to the main website and dont get lost.

Not the only CP that does that, actually most of them do this. When you create new subdomain, new folder with the same name as subdomain is created. Yes, i added that sub_ prefix which can be revmoed of course.

till said:

but this does not mean that anyone wants subdomains to work this way

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Not everyone but a lot of people especially those people who are coming from CP's like cPanel,...

till said:

as ISPConfig implements it with the possibility to have more then one website per customer. For example most poeple here are asking to set a subdomain to a directory of their choice and not to a static subdirectory under the main web directory as this does not add real benefit to the current ISPConfig implementation with mod_rewrite (you can use mod rewrite that the URL in browser dies not change, this results in the same behaviour then your implemamtation).

Click to expand...

You talking about adding new co-domain and Forward it to folder feature? Well that doesn't really work for me. What happens if the company doesn't want to offer mod_rewrite to customers? Plus i might be wrong but, to quote falko from some other thread about subdomains:

If you have a web site www.example.com with a folder test in it, and you then create the Co-Domain test.example.com with a forward to test, then people can type in test.example.com in their browser's address bar, but the address will then switch to www.example.com/test. You cannot change this behavour, you have to accept it.

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In other words, for a subdomain to work with new folder under mains and WITHOUT redirecting from 'subdomain.domain.tpl' to 'www.subdomain.tpl/folder', you would have to do some manual changes to the rules and stuff. Also from another thread about subdomains. Or was this fixed or did i understand it wrong?

till said:

Please ask me for any development related questions and not Falko.

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Fully noted

till said:

I think there are two problems with the solution in your example screenshots, 1) we dont have space for another tab, (in your screenshot the SSL tab is not enabled) so it might be better to add the subdomain list on the same tab then the co-domains.

Click to expand...

Right, didn't know about SSL as yes, i don't use it. Adding it under co-domains will probably solve this.

till said:

The way I prefer the implementation is to add a checkbox or option field to the co-domain settings where the type of subdomain can be selected. Either as rewrite rule like ISPConfig implements it now or as separate vhost like you proposed it.

Click to expand...

Don't quite get this to be honest. Why not just simply moving subdomains tab inside co-domains. Then you would have for example on top subdomains and below co-domain stuff. Why checkbox or option field?

Don't get me wrong here but i would just like to view a CLEAR option for subdomains where even a non-expert can add it without asking anyone a single question. Let's face it, that is not possible now using co-domains and forward folder cause people will look for 'subdomains' name/title. Plus if cPanel and other CP's have it, why not also add it to ISPConfig? I mean its more of a plus for ISPConfig to have 3 ways of dealing with subdomains (mod_rewrite, new account, vhosts). Now that is something not a lot of CP's have! Well even if you guys don't like it or think its stupid, i'll probably add this feature for my ISPConfig.. I want my customers to add subdomains on their own without any support with ability to limit the number of subdomains per domain name..

Not the only CP that does that, actually most of them do this. When you create new subdomain, new folder with the same name as subdomain is created. Yes, i added that sub_ prefix which can be revmoed of course.

Click to expand...

Yes, but thats the result of the inability of most panels to handle an unlimited number of websites per client. These controlpanles are web centric, means you log in your website, ISPConfig is centered around the client, means you log in your client area as most large hosters (that do not use cpanel etc.) have implemented it.

You talking about adding new co-domain and Forward it to folder feature? Well that doesn't really work for me. What happens if the company doesn't want to offer mod_rewrite to customers? Plus i might be wrong but, to quote falko from some other thread about subdomains:

In other words, for a subdomain to work with new folder under mains and WITHOUT redirecting from 'subdomain.domain.tpl' to 'www.subdomain.tpl/folder', you would have to do some manual changes to the rules and stuff. Also from another thread about subdomains. Or was this fixed or did i understand it wrong?

Click to expand...

I know how ISPConfig works, I've written a large part of the software since 2002 mod_rewrite redirects are able to rewrite URL's in a way that the URL does not change, but we choose the redirection where the URL changes in the browser.

Don't quite get this to be honest. Why not just simply moving subdomains tab inside co-domains. Then you would have for example on top subdomains and below co-domain stuff. Why checkbox or option field?

Click to expand...

If you make a new database table for subdomains, you will have to rewrite nearly all scripts that deal with domains, e.g the complete email part on the server and on the client side.

Don't get me wrong here but i would just like to view a CLEAR option for subdomains where even a non-expert can add it without asking anyone a single question. Let's face it, that is not possible now using co-domains and forward folder cause people will look for 'subdomains' name/title. Plus if cPanel and other CP's have it, why not also add it to ISPConfig? I mean its more of a plus for ISPConfig to have 3 ways of dealing with subdomains (mod_rewrite, new account, vhosts). Now that is something not a lot of CP's have! Well even if you guys don't like it or think its stupid, i'll probably add this feature for my ISPConfig.. I want my customers to add subdomains on their own without any support with ability to limit the number of subdomains per domain name..

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Thats what the co-domain feature delivers, plus the ability to add domains that are not a subdomain of the main domain of the website. The main problem is that poeple are searching for the word subdomain, but subdomain does not describe the additional feature that is available with co-domains.

I dont says that this is not useful for ISPConfig to have another type of co-domain implemented, but it is better to discuss implementation details before such a new feature is integrated. By the way, this is a topic for the Developmet forum. If you are not a development group member yet and are interested to join the development group, plese write me a PM with your sourceforge username.

If you add features like this, please use the latest SVN version for development.

I know how ISPConfig works, I've written a large part of the software since 2002 mod_rewrite redirects are able to rewrite URL's in a way that the URL does not change, but we choose the redirection where the URL changes in the browser.

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I know you know how it works, i just read a lot of threads about subdomains and in most of them it says that it redirects from subdomain.domain.tpl to www.domain.tpl/folder. So it confused me!

Right, this actually does work, you just need to wait for a few minutes to actually work

Well since this works, i'm fine with it the way it works! What about limitation of subdomains? Is this already in ISPConfig? I really don't want user to have unlimited subdomains.

PS: Small request, can you guys actually comment code in like English instead of German language? Some of us don't speak German so...